100 Days of Cross Stitch

My 100 Days buddy changed her goals today. 

Rachel started out working on her hand-stitched hexagon project but has now switched to cross stitch. 

The center motif makes me think of the teapot in Beauty and the Beast. Anybody else??

Isn’t it pretty?? Love those colors.

Scenes from a long, long drive

They made it! After 12 hours of driving (not counting breaks) Matt and Mary arrived at their temp rental house about 10:30 pm east coast time. 

Now for some much needed rest before the new house closes on Wednesday and the moving van arrives on Thursday. 

Lots of Progress

So much progress today… block #7 for the 100 Days project is done. 

Donovan and I did a couple of science-y things tonight - watched the embroidery background paper dissolve and disappear in a bowl of water (he was fascinated and is a lot more interested in my sewing project now 😁) 

 I told him to ‘smile like you’re going to see Mom’. Much bigger energy. 

and the ever popular soda/vinegar volcano to clean a (very) burnt baking dish. Good thing baking soda (he used a whole box) and white vinegar (only used half a gallon jug…) are inexpensive and easily replaced! Worth every penny to see how much fun he had.

Matt and Mary made it from wake-up in Albuquerque NM to somewhere in Arkansas tonight. 

OK clouds

Mary said OK is pretty but she wasn’t a fan of the Texas panhandle. Still planning to be in SC by tomorrow night. 

Donovan finished Lego project #2 (of 3). Mary said she’s having more kits delivered. Sure hope so or somebody is gong to be verrrrrrrry bored. Still 10 days to go before we fly out to SC.

 Tap/click the pic for a closeup view of the sparkles!

I’m just over halfway done making blocks for the windmill quilt. 

I goofed and cut the first batch of pieces to size before sewing them together, rather than sewing long strips together, then cutting to size. It probably doubled the time I’ve spent on this project. Note to self: think it through next time!

Settling In + Moving Update

Donovan was really upset Thursday night, the first night mom and dad were gone, so what’s a Granma to do?

Promise him a Target run for Legos! The kid is a Lego Master. He picked out 3 sets - with the agreement that he would not do them all in one day (he could do it easily.)

He called this the ‘bag of despair’ since it held the sets he hadn’t chosen to do first and they were sad. 😂😂

Look what replaced the hutch we gave Matt. A Black Thumb Stand. (I really hope not!) 

Matt gave me some leftover grow lights and hubby made a run to HomeDepot for the wire shelving. 

Everything looks so good, freshly watered and full of hope. Still need to find a tall light for the money tree…

M&M hit the road about 2 Thursday afternoon, just in time to sit in horrible LA traffic. Today they stopped in Phoenix to see Leia for a few minutes, then headed for tonight’s stop in Albuquerque, arriving after 10 pm. Not sure I could do that long of a day. 

Tomorrow night should find them in Arkansas and Sunday in S. Carolina. Escrow closes Wednesday and the furniture arrives Thursday. Crossing fingers everything goes smoothly.

100 Days Project + Moving Update

Really and truly done with this Wildflower block, the first finish of 100 Days and the sixth block in the project. 

I thought I was done last night - took it out of the hoop, snapped a picture to celebrate and… realized I hadn’t done any of the little French knot berries. Hooped it back up and finished it off tonight. 

Also started the next block while #6 soaked to remove the water soluble pattern. It looks so different without the white backing!

The packers were at Matt and Mary’s today, boxing everything up (including some things they’d planned to take on the drive. Oops!) 

Most of the furniture is already in the truck and the rest will be loaded in the morning. They may get to start the cross-country drive tomorrow, a day sooner than planned.

I spent the day baking my feelings, making Mary’s favorite cinnamon rolls (the ones that take 8+ hours, as opposed to the faster 4-hour recipe) with her special gluten-free flour. Sent all but 2 home with them to take on the trip after promising Donovan that we’d make another batch - just for us - after mom and dad left tomorrow.

So excited for them and their new adventure, but also 😩😩.

QOQ Windmills

A quilting buddy and I are doing a Quilt of the Quarter challenge. The rules are simple - we want to use up what we already have so once a quarter make something using precuts we already own, augmented only with fabric from our stash. 

BOQ contenders?

To me, precuts are complete fabric collections like layer cakes, jelly rolls, charm packs, honeybuns, etc. I haven’t bought many of those in recent years (mainly because I hate the linty, uneven pinked edges) so I’m also including fat quarter bundles. 

When we set this up, I knew immediately what fabric I wanted to use first. I bought two of these fat quarter bundles several years ago because they were sparkly! colorful! and on sale! Love the colors but they are very low contrast - and there are only 4 different colors - so finding a pattern has been a challenge. 

 Inspiration windmills

On my third pass through Pinterest when I couldn’t sleep last night, it dawned on me (see what I did there??) that this doesn’t have to be a super fancy project. It needs to be: A) something I enjoy working on and B) finished, so someone can use and enjoy it. Pressure off, pattern picked, fabric cut and the first four blocks made. 

This is going to be so pretty. (I hope.)

Other patterns I want to make during the QOQ.

Bits and Pieces

I’m a bit behind in posting… I made Teena a ‘name’ pincushion at the same time I made mine, but it took a few days to get to her. I started with the paw prints fabric and built the colors from there, using a design from Leila Gardunia’s ‘Year of Scrappy Triangles’. So many fun FPP patterns - definitely going to make more. 

Decided to fight the winter doldrums with some ‘mermaid tail’ hair. Don’t love it as much as last year’s violet locks, but it’s definitely fun and cheerful. 

I bought a Fitbit to monitor the usual stuff - steps, bp, O2 - but the thing that has me fascinated is the sleep monitor. I don’t sleep well, haven’t for years. I’m slow to fall asleep, wake up often and get my best rest between 9 and 11 AM. But with the Fitbit I’ve stopped worrying about whether I’m asleep or not (everybody does that, right??) and I’m actually getting more shut-eye. So weird, but I’ll take it!

Rachel decided to do the 100 Days Project with me. Hooray! It’ll be a lot more fun with an art buddy. Hopefully she’ll send pics I can share along the way. According to The Google, since we started on February 22, 100 days will take us to June 2.

 One day done!

Matt and Mary are in their last week before leaving for S. Carolina. 

A few of the indoor plants they are taking to SC. They both have very green thumbs

The movers come on Thursday and if all goes well, M & M will head out with the dogs and reptiles Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. 

 Left over outdoor plants after they filled up our front yard.

Donovan figured out how long he would be in the car if he rode with them and voted to stay with me and Pop. Smart boy. 

 Part of their ‘inheritance’ - passing along furniture and glassware I inherited from my mom.

We’ll fly out with him the second week of March, giving Mom and Dad time to get things unloaded and unpacked. Looking forward to seeing their new place.

100 Days Project

I’ve been in a creative slump for awhile. I’m blaming it on my craft room being too cold at night - my preferred sewing time - and also on the last grandchild moving across the country. Life is going to be very, very different without little people around, which is sad but also an opportunity. (I’m repeating that several times a day…)

So when I saw The 100 Day Project, I thought ‘hmmm, timely!’ And immediately knew what I wanted to do. It needed to be: portable so it can tag along on trips; flexible so I can do a lot or a little each day; fun so I want to work on it. Bonus that it’s a UFO I really want to finish. 

Part A is embroidery, specifically the Wildflower quilt kit I started back in March 2024 (here). I’d like to learn/practice some new-to-me/renew-my-skills stitches too so Wildflower is a good starting place. Plus, I can finally see close-up again! thanks to last year’s eye surgery and a new pair of up-close glasses. 

Part B is going on a walk everyday, even if it’s just around the block. I’ve gotten badly out of shape (not that I ever exercised much). Being outside, getting some exercise will be good for body, mind and hopefully my sleep schedule. 

Tomorrow is kick off day! Even if I don’t make it the full 100 days, the UFO and I will both be better off than we are today. Win win!

* Judging from past experience, there’s only a slim chance I’ll finish this. Don’t care. It’ll get me moving, with a daily goal, and that’s what I need.